Hey guys, just wanted to warn people not to get scammed with your tax returns

Hey everyone, just wanted to share a quick story on how i almost got taken advantage of with my tax return. Like some of us, this is one of my first time filling a tax return. I figured i would go to H&R block. Well they try and take advantage of people. For any of you that are like me and made money on a 1099-misc, they try to charge a starting fee of $300, not including all the other fees along the way. This is blind theft, do not get your taxes done with them, go to you local tax specialist who cant take advantage of us in this manner. I ended up using turbotax and payed less then like a $100 for everything. I know that some of us might be scared of the tax filling process, but it shouldnt be scary, and for that reason dont let them take you for a ride.

I know in my area some of the public libraries have free tax return help. So that is also something to look into in your area.

I filled mine last night, I used H&R block. I had a good experience, I wouldn't go to the office, the web version is simple to understand and it pretty much does everything for you except put in the numbers. I paid $57.55, for federal and state returns. Not bad

If your taxes aren't complicated, you can do it yourself for free with Turbotax the free version. They walk you through it one step at a time and its very simple. It was the first time I filed taxes myself and it was a breeze. Took me about 30 minutes and didn't pay a dime. Got my federal tax already, just waiting on state. My co-worker went to some tax professional and they charged him almost $500.

Like I said, if your taxes aren't complicated, give the free version of Turbotax a shot. You'll only submit it at the very end so try it out. To make it even more simple, have your w-2 ready so you can just just plug in your employer ID number.

Quick tax question, are we allowed for Earned Income Credit?

Per IRS,

Who can claim the credit and if I qualify, how do I get it?

To claim EITC on your tax return, you must meet all the following rules:
•You, your spouse (if you file a joint return), and all others listed on Schedule EIC, must have a Social Security number that is valid for employment
•You must have earned income from working for someone else or running or operating a farm or business
•Your filing status cannot be married filing separately
•You must be a U.S. citizen or resident alien all year, or a nonresident alien married to a U.S. citizen or resident alien and filing a joint return
•You cannot be a qualifying child of another person
•You cannot file Form 2555 or Form 2555 EZ (related to foreign earned income)
•You must meet the earned income, AGI and investment income limits (income limits change each year), see EITC Income Limits for the tax year amounts
•And you must meet one of the following: ◦Have a qualifying child (see who is a qualifying child below)
◦If you do not have a qualifying child, you must: ◦be age 25 but under 65 at the end of the year,
◦live in the United States for more than half the year, and
◦not qualify as a dependent of another person.



If you qualify for EITC, you have to file a tax return with the IRS, even if you owe no tax or are not required to file.


My concern is our DACA status.

You must be a U.S. citizen or resident alien all year, or a nonresident alien married to a U.S. citizen or resident alien and filing a joint return

Are we considered Resident alien all year for tax purpose?

Also, for anyone that didnt know.. some states have free File if you make under a certain amount.
My state (NC) was included here's the link. http://freefile.irs.gov/need-to-know-about-freefile/

I used H&R Block through the IRS link and was not charged a dime for either Federal or State.
My taxes were pretty simple/basic. No dependents and most of the questions asked on the step by step pages did not apply to me.

I filed on Jan 22nd for Federal and Jan 28th for State. Got both of my returns by direct deposit on Feb 4.

Yes. We are resident aliens for tax purposes. They have two tests for this 1)Green Card Test or 2)Substantial Presence. (If you lived in the US for 183 days of last year and 31 days of this year.)

I also work as an indie contractor and receive 1099 forms and personal checks. My tax woman charges $90 to file my taxes. I'd opt to use TurboTax for sole proprietors/home business and file myself but, based on rumors, there's a likelier chance of being audited. With two schedule c forms to file and tons of records I feel more confident allowing a pro handle it.

When do we need to file Federal Income Tax and State Income Tax for New York State?

Yup, This happened to me as well, what saved me was they had problem filing my taxes because I had no ITIN or SSN so the system kept rejecting it, I was filing for the first time on behalf of my new llc company so I thought all I need was the tax ID. I should have know to run when they wanted to start filing without giving me a solid $$$$$figure before hand. They woman told me to go apply for ssn and then come back, I asked her how much the return would cost so I could be prepared, once they told me about $270 I jetted. I saw info online saying that H&R block charges about $50 to do your taxes which is why I went there in the first place.